Fokker F.28 Fellowship

Fokker's experience with the F27 showed a requirement for a higher-performance airliner of slightly greater capacity, and in 1960 the company began design studies for such an aircraft. First details of the new Fokker F28 Fellowship were released in April 1962, and, with financial backing from the Netherlands government and risk-sharing support from MBB in West Germany and Shorts in the UK, a decision was made in 1964 to begin development and production of this new airliner.

Of cantilever low/mid-wing monoplane configuration with a circular-section fuselage, a T-tail unit with swept surfaces and retractable tricycle landing gear, the F28 was designed for a powerplant comprising two Rolls-Royce RB183 turbofan engines. The first of three prototypes made its maiden flight on 9 May 1967, and certification and delivery of the first production aircraft was achieved on 24 February 1969. This initial F28 Mk 1000 short-fuselage version could seat 55 to 65 passengers and was powered by two 4468kg thrust RB183-2 Mk 555-15 turbofans. It was available optionally as the F28 Mk 1000C for all-cargo or mixed passenger/cargo operations with a large cargo door incorporated in the port side of the forward fuselage, aft of the standard passenger door.

The generally similar F28 Mk 2000 differed only in having the fuselage lengthened by 2.21m to accommodate a maximum of 79 passengers. Later production versions were the F28 Mk 3000 and F28 Mk 4000 with the fuselage lengths of the Mks 1000 and 2000 respectively.

The F28 Mk 3000 was offered with a 15-seat executive interior, and the F28 Mk 4000 has maximum seating capacity for 85 passengers. Sales reached 241 before the Fellowship gave way to the Fokker 100 on the production line in 1987. In mid-1991 Fokker stated that over 200 F28s were still in service and at least half of these were expected to be hush-kitted to Category 3 standard beginning in 1994, enabling them to continue in service for another 15 years.

lxbfYeaa, e-mail, 14.03.2024 Wayne Brown

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